Fire door frame



' G. MCCORMICK EI'AL 2,387,523

Oct. 23, 1945. FIRE D0011 FRAME INVENTORS M; M

Filed Oct. 11, 1943 Patented Oct. 23,, 1945 FIRE noon FRAME George McCormick, Redwood City, and Ben M.

F Brown, Palo Alto, Calif.

Application October, 11, 1943, Serial No. 505,890

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to frames for the fire doors of furnaces, and although particularly designedfor the fire doors of locomotive boilers, is nevertheless adaptable to door installations of generally similar character. i

H {The fire door opening of a boiler is subject to comparatively rapid deterioration of the steel walls, principally because of the frequent and violent changes in temperature caused by opening and closing the door and oxidation caused by large amounts of fresh air in contact with the heated walls. i l

, It has. been customary to form the fire door opening of locomotive boilers either by flanging the fire box wall or doorsheet outwardly, joining itto the outwardly flanged outer shell or back head by welding or riveting, or by flanging the door sheet, outwardly to about half the thickness of the-water leg, flanging the back head inwardly to the same contour and welding the two flanges together. In either case, a separate fire door frame is customarily secured to the face of the back head by bolts, studs or rivets. In the flrstcase, a filler ring is applied between the frame and the back head.

This construction has a number of disadvantages. The flanging of the 'back head and the door sheetto the exact contour required is diflicult, particularly when renewals become necessary. The thickness of the sheets at points of maximum deterioration and stress is the same as over the remaining area, thus causing fractures and calling for repairs or replacement. Due to warpage, the joint between fire door frame and back head frequently becomes untight and causes air leaks.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a flre door frame which completely displaces the back head and door sheet flanges,

thus combining frame and flanges into a single unit. ,Another object is to provide a self reinforcing section, with maximum strength at points of greatest stress and exposure to deterioration. Other objects are to eliminate air leaks, to simplify installation and replacement, to reduce the amount and weight of steel, and to provide a door frame which will permit several removals and applications.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, which should be read with the understanding that changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts herein illustrated and described, within the limits of the (cr me-499) claims hereto appended, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of our improved fire door frame, with door removed.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive are sections similar to Fig. 2 showing different ways of securing our fire door frame to th boiler sheets. i

In the drawing, the reference numeral 1 designates the outer sheet or back headof a locomotive boiler, and 8 is the inner shell or fire box .wall. To avoid confusion hereinafter, the outer sheet 1 will be termed the rear sheet, and the inner sheet 8 will be termed the front sheet, the terms rear and front designating the actual positions of the sheets in the locomotive. Our improved fire door frame 9 comprises a ring like structure, preferably a steel casting, having whatever contour may be desired for the door opening, in this case elliptical, and having a uniform cross: section primarily of T shape. The leg H) of the T is a flange extending outwardly all around the frame, and is secured to the outeror rear boiler sheet 1 preferably by welding. This joint between the flange I0 and the rear sheet 1 may be butt welded, ass'hown at H in Figs. 2 to 5, or it may be lap welded, as shown at l2 in Fig. 6. One arm 13 of the T extends rearwardly at right angles to the leg flange l0, and forms a flange against which the movable door (not shown) seats. The other arm I of the T extends forwardly at right angles to the leg flange l0 and in line with the arm flange I3, and is welded to the fire box wall or front boiler sheet 8 as shown at IS. The arm flanges l3 and I4 thus form the boundary wall of the fire door opening, and the leg flange Ill forms the face plate of the frame, from which extend integral hinge lugs l6 and latch lugs or lock stops I! for the movable door.

Our improved door frame can be used either in new construction or as a replacement part for old boilers, and by extending the leg flange l 0 and the inner arm flange l4 more or less, it can be mounted in boilers of varying construction or condition. Thus for example the inner flange 14 can be bent outwardly, as shown at IS in Fig. 2, parallel with the flange I0. In this example, which may well be an old boiler showing considerable deterioration around the fire door, the sheets I and 8 of the boiler have been out back considerably and to equal distances from the center of the opening, and the flanges l0 and [8 of our door frame are extended sufliciently to be butt welded to the'cut back sheets at I l and l5. Stay bolt holes [9 are formed in both flanges of the frame in this case.

In the example shown in Fig. 4, the boiler sheets I and 8 have been cut back less than in Fig. 2. The flanges ID and I8 of the frame are therefore shorter, and the stay bolt holes 19 are formed in the boiler sheets instead of in the frame flanges.

The construction shown in Fig. 4 may well be fol-' wardly at 20 and is still in good condition. Our

frame in this example has its simplest basic T section, the arm flange 14 being straight and butt welded at l 5 to the outwardly flanged front sheet 8. Both stay bolt holes are in theboiler sheets.

Fig. 6 shows an example in which the front sheet 8 has been cut back farther than the rear sheet 1. The leg flange in of the frame in this case may be lap welded to the sheet I at 1'2, and the stay bolt holes are formed as shown. The flange l0, obviously, may be inside the rear boiler sheet 1, instead of outside as shown, and may be secured "thereto by bolts or rivets instead of by welding.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that our improved fire doorframe provides a simple easily formed'structure that-canrbe applied :at minimum cost in time and :labor either to new boilers or as a replacement inol'd boilers needing'repair. Moreover, because of its one piece construction, and its basic T sectional shape, 'it provides maximum strength and weight. It has no double walled portions exposed to extreme temperature changes, and therefore is less subject to warping and cracking than the usual construction. It requires n0 filler ring or no extra ring around the opening, and the door can be set quite close to the head of the boiler, thus saving space.

We claim:

1. Fire door construction for a locomotive boiler having a front sheet and a rear sheet spaced to form a water leg-comprising an integral .ring like door frame of substantially T shaped uniform cross section having an outwardly extending flange aligned with the rear boiler sheet and butt welded thereto, a second flange extending forwardly approximately at right angles to the first mentioned flange, said second flange being butt welded to the front boiler sheet, and a third flange extending rearwardly in substantial alignment with the second flange, the rear edge of said third flange forming a continuous seat for a door.

2. Fire door construction for a locomotive boiler having apertured front and rear sheets spaced to form a water leg, comprising an integral ring like door frame of substantially T shape-d cross section uniform throughout its circumference, said frame having an outwardly extending flange, 2. second flange extending forwardly approximately at right angles to the first mentioned flange, the outer edge portion of said flanges being formed to adjoin the edge portions respectively of the rear and front boiler sheets, the edge portion, of at least one of said flanges being aligned with and butt welded to the edge portion of the corre sponding boiler sheet and the other flange "being permanently secured to the other boiler sheet, and a third flange extending rearwardly in substantial alignment With the second flange, said third flange being continuous throughout the circumference of the frame and having a rear edge which forms a continuous seat for a door.

' GEORGE McCORMICK.

BEN M. BROWN. 

